Page 31 of The Beauty and the Boxer
A faint blush rose to her cheeks and he hadthe instant impression that she might just be the exception.
“My parents were very strict in theirupbringing. Honor was one of my father’s most important lessons andmy mama was so devoted to him that she made sure to rear us with aheavy dose of right and wrong, especially after his passing.”
“Simon might have mentioned she was adifficult woman to deal with.”
That earned him a look.
“You’ve spoken about my mama?”
“Briefly, and I was not at all interested,but yes.”
“Well, I’m sure your brother was being kind.Difficult is a gentle word for the way she has acted towards him.”She paused. “I only hope my sister Beatrice isn’t crushed beneaththe weight of my mama’s demanding ideas.” Lost in thought for amoment, Jack wondered how to reply when she shook her head, givinghim a sheepish expression. “Please, ignore my ramblings. Tell memore about your uncle.”
Jack nodded, although he very much wishedthat she would continue with her own family history. He wassuddenly very curious to know all her stories. What it had beenlike growing up in a family, what it was like having sisters.Small, insignificant things that shouldn’t matter to him, but thatsuddenly interested him a great deal.
Clearing his throat, he continued.
“There’s not much else to tell. I only knewhim a brief time and he swung long ago for his crimes. He leftSimon and I a substantial amount of money, but it wasn’t enough tobuy the lumber yard. I had to throw a few fights, to decrease myvalue in the ring.”
Meredith glanced at him.
“That’s dishonest.”
Jack barked with laughter.
“Yes, but necessary. You see, I had made adeal with a criminal, a man named Tate, to set up fights that Icouldn’t win, to try and keep it on the level.” Meredith didn’tseem to understand the terminology and Jack tried again. “To keepit honest. If I actually couldn’t beat them, it wasn’tcheating.”
“I suppose not.”
“But my last fight was with WillGraham.”
“Who is that?”
“The man who went on to coach Ben Caunt.Have you heard of him?”
Ben Caunt was a bit of a celebrity in thepapers. Jack knew that she had probably heard about him, even ifshe had never been to a pugilist fight. Ben Caunt was supposedlythe next great fighter.
“They’re calling the clock tower inWestminster Big Ben, supposedly after him, aren’t they?”
“It wouldn’t surprise me. He’s a massive manand while his teacher was a skilled fighter, I was faster.”
“What happened?”
“Well, I was supposed to be knocked out inthe fifth round. You know what a round is?”
“No.”
“It’s the time allotted to the fighters tofight. They last two minutes.”
“How many rounds are there?”
“Five for most fights, more if it’s achampionship.”
“So, you were supposed to lose in the lastround?”
“I was,” he said, nodding. “Except thatSimon and I had put all our money on me to win.”
Meredith’s eyes went wide, seeminglyengrossed by his story.
